BV 

4832 
.  M53 
1901 


G,t(.  2.3 


iflrom  tt?r  ffitbrary  of 

Profofiflor  itenjamitt  Smkittriby?  MarMb 
!?yuea%b  by  ktm  to 
%  library  of 

Jlrinretmt  (Utipflloytral  £>mtttarg 

BV  4832  . M53  1901  " 

Miller,  J.R. 

Summer  gathering  for 
winter's  need 


■ 


SUMMER  GATHERING 

FOR 

WINTER’S  NEED 

WORDS  FOR  LIFE’S  SUNNY  DAYS 


BY 

/ 

J.  R.  MILLER,  D.D. 

Author  of  “  Making  the  Most  of  Life,”  “  The  Every 
Day  of  Life,”  “Strength  and  Beauty,”  etc. 


NEW  YORK 

THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  &  CO, 
PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  iqoi, 

By  Thomas  Y.  Crowell  &  Company. 


We  ought  to  begin  in  early  youth 
to  gather  beautiful  things  into  our  life 
—  gentle  thoughts,  noble  truths,  pure 
memories,  inspiring  influences,  enrich¬ 
ing  friendships.  Then  we  shall  have  a 
treasure-house  from  which  to  draw  in 
the  days  when  work  is  hard,  when  sor¬ 
row  comes,  when  the  resources  of  glad¬ 
ness  fail. 

J.  R.  M. 

Philadelphia,  U.S.A. 


3 


“  He  that  gatheretk  in  summer  is  a  wise  son ; 

But  he  that  sleepeth  in  summer  is  a  son  that  causeth 
shame.” 


“  A  little  spring  had  lost  its  way 
Amid  the  grass  and  fern ; 

A  passing  stranger  scooped  a  well 
Where  weary  ones  might  turn. 

He  walled  it  in,  and  hung,  with  care, 

A  ladle  at  its  brink. 

He  thought  not  of  the  deed  he  did, 

But  judged  that  toil  might  drink. 

He  passed  again,  and  lo  !  the  well, 

By  summers  never  dried, 

Had  cooled  ten  thousand  parching  tongues, 
And  saved  a  life  beside.” 


5 


SUMMER  GATHERING  FOR  WINTER’S 

NEED 


But  two  ways  are  offered  to  our  will : 

Toil  with  rare  triumph,  ease  with  safe  disgrace. 

Nor  deem  that  acts  heroic  wait  on  chance  ! 

The  man's  whole  life  preludes  the  single  deed 
That  shall  decide  if  his  inheritance 
Be  with  the  sifted  few  of  matchless  breed 
Or  with  the  unmotived  herd  that  only  sleep  and  feed. 

Lowell. 

Life’s  providential  adjustments  are  perfect. 
For  every  need  there  is  a  supply.  Those  who 
do  each  day’s  duty  in  its  day  shall  not  lack  in 
any  future.  When  there  is  a  want  for  which 
there  is  no  provision  ready  there  has  been  a 
thread  of  duty  dropped  somewhere  in  the  past. 
An  opportunity  has  been  allowed  to  pass  unim¬ 
proved,  and  now  —  perhaps  long  afterward  — 
a  need  emerges  and  there  is  nothing  with  which 
to  meet  it.  If  we  are  always  diligent  and  faith¬ 
ful  we  shall  always  find  ready  to  our  hand  what 
we  need  in  any  new  experience. 


7 


8 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


So  we  carry  in  onr  present  the  provision  for 
our  future.  There  is  a  Bible  proverb  which 
says,  “He  that  gathereth  in  summer  is  a  wise 
son.”  In  its  simplest  form  this  saying  refers  to 
the  gathering  and  laying  up  of  food  in  the  sum¬ 
mer  days.  There  is  a  season  when  the  harvest 
is  waving  on  the  fields,  when  fruits  hang  on  the 
trees  and  vines,  when  earth’s  good  things  wait 
to  be  gathered.  That  is  the  time  when  men 
must  be  diligent  if  they  would  lay  by  in  store 
for  their  winter’s  needs.  Not  long  does  the 
opportunity  wait.  No  sooner  are  the  fruits  ripe 
than  they  begin  to  decay  and  fall  off. 


li  On  the  wild  rose-tree 
Many  buds  there  be, 

Yet  each  sunny  hour 
Hath  but  one  perfect  flower. 

“  Thou  who  wouldst  be  wise, 
Open  wide  thine  eyes ; 

In  each  sunny  hour 

Pluck  the  one  perfect  flower !  ” 


No  sooner  is  the  harvest  golden  than  it  be¬ 
gins  to  perish.  Winter  follows  summer.  Then 


FOR  WINTER'S  NEED . 


9 


there  are  no  fruits  on  the  trees  and  vines,  no 
harvest  waving  on  the  fields.  The  hungry  man 
cannot  then  go  out  and  find  food,  and  if  he  has 
not  gathered  in  summer  and  laid  up  in  store,  he 
must  suffer  want. 

The  other  part  of  the  proverb  teaches  :  “  He 
that  sleepeth  in  harvest  is  a  son  that  causeth 
shame.”  We  have  all  seen  that  kind  of  son.  A 
great  deal  of  the  world’s  want  is  caused  by  the 
failure  to  gather  in  summer.  A  man  idles  away 
the  days  when  he  ought  to  have  been  diligent, 
and  then  finds  himself  in  need  in  the  days  when 
even  diligence  would  not  avail,  and  when  he 
may  as  well  sleep  on  and  take  his  ease.  If  we 
accept  life’s  opportunities  and  make  reasonable 
use  of  them  we  shall  not  likely  want  even  in 
the  time  of  famine. 

The  Bible  is  a  wonderfully  wise  book.  It  is 
full  of  counsels  which  touch  every  point  of  life. 
It  abounds  in  exhortations  to  diligence.  It  has 
no  sympathy  with  idleness  or  indolence.  The 
Book  of  Proverbs  is  specially  full  of  the  gospel 
of  work.  “  He  becometh  poor  that  dealeth  with 
a  slack  hand ;  but  the  hand  of  the  diligent 


10 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


maketh  rich.”  “Go  to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard  ; 
consider  her  ways  and  he  wise ;  which  .  .  . 

gathereth  her  food  in  the  harvest.”  So,  every¬ 
where,  this  lesson  of  timely  diligence  is 
pressed.  “  He  that  gathereth  in  summer  is  a 
wise  son.”  He  does  not  want  in  winter.  When 
the  bitter  cold  comes  and  he  cannot  work,  when 
the  fields  and  vines  are  bare  and  he  cannot 
gather  food,  he  has  but  to  turn  to  the  stores  he 
has  laid  up,  and  there  he  finds  all  that  he  needs 
to  feed  his  hunger. 

Primarily  the  counsel  is  for  the  farmers,  who 
gather  their  sustenance  from  fields  and  orchards, 
where  only  for  a  brief  season  do  the  harvests 
and  fruits  remain.  He  who  does  not  sow  in 
seed-time  will  have  nothing  to  reap  in  the  time 
of  ingathering.  But  the  principle  has  wide  ap¬ 
plication.  Life  has  its  summers  and  its  winters, 
its  times  of  health,  plenty,  and  opportunity,  and 
then  its  times  of  sickness  or  want ;  and  these 
seasons  of  need  must  feed  from  the  stores  laid 
up  in  the  days  of  abundance. 

There  are  times  when  men  can  have  employ¬ 
ment,  with  corresponding  wages,  and  then  they 


FOR  WINTER'S  NEED. 


11 


should  save  from  their  earnings  and  lay  by 
in  reserve  for  the  times  when  they  will  have 
no  work  and  consequently  no  wages.  If  they 
do  this  they  will  never  suffer  want.  But  if 
they  eat  up  all  their  harvest  in  the  time  of 
plenty,  they  will  go  hungry  when  the  fields  are 
bare.  Every  life,  every  home,  has  experiences 
of  special  need.  Sickness  comes.  The  bread¬ 
winners  must  cease  their  toil.  Then  there  are 
pinching  times  if  there  has  been  no  forethought, 
and  if  nothing  has  been  saved  and  stored  from 
the  plenty  of  brighter  days. 

It  is  a  wise  rule  to  be  adopted  in  youth  and 
steadily  adhered  to  through  all  life,  never  to 
spend  quite  all  one’s  earnings  or  income,  but 
always  to  lay  by  at  least  a  little  in  store.  If 
one’s  income  is  small,  one’s  expenditures  should 
be  less.  We  should  learn  always  to  live  within 
our  means.  If  we  fail  to  do  this,  debt  is  the 
inevitable  result,  and  debt  is  a  bondage  which 
soon  crushes  out  hope  and  paralyzes  energy. 
The  rainy  day  comes  sometime  in  every  life, 
and  if  there  is  no  reserve  spared  and  garnered 
from  the  sunny  days  of  plenty,  there  can  be  no 


12 


8  UMMEE  GA  TIIEEING 


escape  from  debt.  We  must  borrow  then  from 
some  source,  either  from  the  stores  of  the  past 
or  from  the  avails  of  the  future.  To  turn  to 
the  latter  resource  is  to  make  life  harder  in 
the  days  to  come  until  the  debt  is  cancelled. 
Young  people  should  learn  this  lesson.  If  it 
was  thought  important  enough  to  be  put  into 
the  Bible,  among  the  words  of  eternal  life,  it  is 
important  enough  to  put  into  a  human  book 
and  to  be  heeded  by  every  one  : 

“  He  that  gathereth  in  summer  is  a  wise  son ; 

But  he  that  sleepeth  in  summer  is  a  son  that  causeth 
shame.” 


The  lesson  falls  under  two  heads.  Every  one 
must  gather  in  harvest.  Every  one  must  work 
while  it  is  day.  The  promise  that  we  shall  not 
want  is  conditioned  upon  faithful  diligence  in 
the  time  when  we  can  be  busy.  When  we  pray 
for  daily  bread,  it  is  our  daily  bread  for  which 
we  are  taught  to  ask,  and  no  bread  can  be  ours 
until  we  have  earned  it.  The  lazy  and  indolent 
man  is  preparing  poverty  for  himself.  He  can¬ 
not  have  God’s  blessing,  and  he  has  no  promise 


FOR  WINTER  \S  NEED. 


13 


of  divine  care  when  the  empty  days,  days  of 
need,  come  upon  him. 

Then  every  one  should  gather,  that  is,  lay  by, 
in  harvest,  in  the  plentiful  season,  because  it 
will  not  always  be  harvest-time.  There  will 
surely  be  a  winter  after  the  summer,  and  the 
winter  must  feed  off  the  summer  or  be  in  want. 
After  the  seven  years  of  abundance  there  will 
be  other  seven  years  with  no  ingathering.  But 
he  who  stores  away  the  surplus  of  his  plenty 
will  not  go  hungry  in  the  times  of  scarcity. 

There  are  other  harvest-times  in  life  in  which 
we  must  gather,  or  we  shall  be  in  want  in  the 
other  winters  that  will  also  come. 

Youth  is  a  summer.  It  is  a  time  for  educa¬ 
tion,  for  receiving  instruction,  for  gathering 
knowledge.  It  is  a  time  for  the  formation  of 
habits,  for  the  knitting  of  the  thews  and  sinews 
of  character.  It  is  a  time  for  the  choosing  of 
friends  and  the  weaving  of  friendships.  Then 
the  days  are  long  and  quiet,  and  free  from  care, 
burden,  and  responsibility.  Other  hands  toil 
then,  other  brains  think  and  plan,  other  hearts 
love  and  suffer,  that  youth  may  be  happy  and 


14 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


unanxious.  Later  comes  real  life  with  its  du¬ 
ties,  its  responsibilities,  its  cares  and  strug¬ 
gles,  its  sorrows,  its  burdens.  But  lie  who  has 
gathered  in  the  summer  days  shall  not  lack  in 
the  winter.  A  youth-time  diligently  improved 
prepares  one  for  whatever  severer  days  may 
bring. 

W e  are  not  living  in  a  world  of  chance  ;  this 
is  our  Father’s  world.  There  is  no  doubt,  there¬ 
fore,  that  in  the  wise  providence  of  God  there 
come  to  every  one  in  youth  opportunities  which 
if  properly  improved  will  prepare  for  noble, 
beautiful,  and  successful  life  in  the  mature 
days.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  this  is  true  in  good 
homes,  where  children  are  trained  by  faithful 
parents,  in  the  midst  of  kindly  and  encouraging 
circumstances,  under  healthful  and  wholesome 
influences.  Their  youth-time  is  one  long  sum¬ 
mer,  with  golden  harvests  on  its  hundred  fields, 
with  nothing  to  do  but  to  reap  and  gather  into 
life’s  barns.  But  it  is  true  likewise  of  those 
who  grow  up  in  poverty,  amid  hardship  and  in 
stern  conditions.  These  have  their  opportuni¬ 
ties  too.  It  is  well  known  that  many  of  the 


FOR  WINTER  ’  S  NEED. 


15 


world’s  best  and  greatest  men  have  gathered  on 
what  seemed  bare  and  rugged  fields  the  store  of 
good  and  of  strength  winch  in  later  years  gave 
them  power.  A  true  and  wise  use  of  the  oppor¬ 
tunities  that  are  given  in  youth,  whether  they 
come  in  the  sunshine  of  comfort  and  ease,  or  in 
circumstances  of  poverty  and  hardship,  will  fit 
one  for  whatever  of  task  or  struggle  may  fall  to 
one’s  lot  in  the  after  days.  God  has  a  plan  for 
every  life,  and  that  plan  takes  in  the  life’s  train¬ 
ing  and  preparation  as  well  as  its  work  and  ser¬ 
vice.  There  is  always  opportunity,  too,  for  just 
the  preparation  that  is  needed  for  the  mission 
which  is  God’s  thought  and  plan  for  the  life. 

But  if  we  miss  the  preparation  we  shall  fail 
in  the  work  that  we  were  meant  to  do.  If  we 
would  be  ready  for  the  opportunities  and  re¬ 
sponsibilities  of  to-morrow,  we  must  accept 
those  of  to-day.  There  is  an  old  Persian  legend 
of  a  pavement  under  which  lay  lumps  of  gold. 
The  man  who  lifted  none  of  the  pavement 
would  get  none  of  the  gold.  He  who  lifted 
part  of  it  might  or  might  not  find  the  gold.  But 
he  who  lifted  the  whole  of  it  would  certainly 


16 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


secure  the  treasure.  Under  every  day’s  pave¬ 
ment  gold  is  buried.  But  we  must  lift  the 
stones  if  we  would  find  it.  If  in  our  indolence 
or  neglect  we  leave  one  stone  unlifted,  the  gold 
may  be  under  that  one,  and  we  shall  miss  find¬ 
ing  it. 

The  important  thing  is  that  opportunities 
shall  be  improved.  Youth  must  gather  in  its 
summer  time,  whatever  the  harvest  may  be. 
Nothing  is  surer  than  that  indolent  early  years 
mean  failure  in  manhood.  One  may  neglect  the 
tasks  that  the  days  bring,  because  play  is  easier 
or  more  congenial  to  the  taste,  but  these  tasks 
are  links  in  the  chain  which  brings  one  to  suc¬ 
cess,  and  if  any  of  them  are  dropped,  even  one, 
the  chain  is  broken.  A  lesson  missed  in  school 
may  be  the  cause  of  failure  some  day,  years 
hence,  when  the  little  fragment  of  knowledge  or 
instruction  or  discipline  lost  that  hour  shall  be 
necessary  in  order  to  win  some  high  honor  or  to 
accept  some  coveted  promotion.  Every  oppor¬ 
tunity  a  boy  loses  is  a  chance  for  misfortune  in 
after  life.  By  and  by  when  he  stands  before 
life’s  open  doors  he  will  not  be  able  to  enter 


FOh  WINTER'S  NEED. 


17 


them.  When  he  ffioes  great  duties  and  solemn 
responsibilities  he  can  only  hang  his  head  in 
shame.  He  has  idled  away  his  summer,  his 
gathering-time,  and  now  when  winter  is  upon 
him  and  he  cannot  work,  he  has  no  reserve  from 
which  to  draw. 

But  the  young  person  who  improves  all  his 
opportunities  in  youth,  who  is  diligent  in  his 
studies,  who  gathers  knowledge,  wisdom,  and 
strength,  and  the  qualities  of  noble  character  in 
this  summer-time  of  his  life,  will  come  up  to 
the  responsibilities  of  his  later  years  prepared  to 
accept  them  and  meet  them  with  honor.  We 
grow  by  bearing  burdens,  by  doing  difficult 
things,  by  enduring  hardship,  by  toil  and 
struggle. 

“By  the  brave  things  thought  or  spoken, 

By  the  true  deeds  simply  done  ; 

By  the  mean  things  crushed  and  conquered,. 

And  the  bloodless  battles  won ; 

By  the  days  when  the  load  was  heavy, 

Yet  the  heart  grew  strong  to  bear ; 

By  the  dearth,  the  dole,  and  the  labor, 

The  fulness,  reward,  and  cheer ; 

By  the  book  of  the  angel’s  record,” 


18 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


do  we  reach  upward  to  noble  and  worthy  charac¬ 
ter.  The  easy  life  may  seem  more  pleasant,  but 
it  does  not  yield  the  heroic  qualities  that  belong 
to  the  highest  manhood. 

This  law  applies  also  to  spiritual  life.  In  one 
sense  we  cannot  lay  up  grace  in  store  any  one 
day  for  another.  No  summer’s  gathering  will 
do  for  winter’s  use.  To-day’s  help  will  not  do 
for  to-morrow’s  needs.  To-day’s  strength  will 
not  suffice  in  to-morrow’s  temptations  and  trials. 
To-day’s  comfort  will  not  lighten  the  darkness 
of  to-morrow’s  sorrow.  The  manna  fell  each 
morning,  enough  and  enough  only  for  the  one 
day.  It  could  not  be  kept  over.  It  is  so  with 
spiritual  food.  It  must  be  received  every  morn¬ 
ing  fresh  from  heaven.  We  cannot  lay  up  in 
seasons  of  special  devotion  supplies  of  divine 
grace  to  suffice  through  periods  of  prayerless- 
ness  and  worldliness.  We  cannot  pile  away  in 
our  heart’s  storehouses  on  Sunday  spiritual 
vitality  to  last  us  through  a  whole  week  of 
secularity.  We  must  keep  ourself  all  the 
while  in  living  communion  with  Christ,  receiv¬ 
ing  continuously  from  Him  fresh  supply  for  our 


FOR  WINTER  ’  S  NEED. 


19 


continuous  need.  “Abide”  is  the  word  our 
Lord  himself  uses.  We  must  abide  in  him. 
Life  must  be  received  hour  by  hour  direct  from 
Christ’s  warm,  throbbing  heart.  There  must  be 
no  breaks  in  the  believing  that  receives  of  the 
divine  fulness,  grace  after  grace.  We  carry  in 
us  no  reservoirs  in  which  divine  life  may  be 
stored  to  last  us  over  times  of  spiritual  drought. 

Yet  there  is  another  sense  in  which  in  our 
spiritual  life  we  may  gather  in  summer  for 
winter’s  use.  For  example,  in  the  times  of 
quietness  and  security  we  may  store  in  our  heart 
the  resources  we  shall  need  to  draw  upon  for 
meeting  temptation.  Childhood  and  early  youth 
in  a  true  Christian  home  are  in  a  large  measure 
sheltered  from  stern  assaults  and  conflicts.  The 
atmosphere  is  kindly  and  genial.  The  influences 
are  helpful.  There  is  a  mother’s  bosom  to  hide 
in.  There  is  a  father’s  hand  to  lead  and  protect. 
The  family  altar,  with  its  daily  worship  which 
brings  us  together  in  prayer,  holds  all  the  house¬ 
hold  close  to  God’s  feet.  The  sin  of  the  world 
outside  washes  the  very  threshold,  the  spray  of 
its  tides  dashing  against  the  windows ;  yet 


20 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


within  the  sacred  walls  there  is  a  holy  life,  un¬ 
perturbed,  unstained,  loving,  gentle,  and  true. 
The  child  that  grows  up  amid  the  kindly  in¬ 
fluences  of  a  home  of  love  and  prayer  is  shel¬ 
tered  from  the  temptations  that  make  the  world 
without  so  perilous  a  place  in  which  to  live. 
This  period  is  the  summer  of  life  to  those  who 
are  blessed  with  its  privileges. 

But  the  winter  comes.  No  one  can  live 
always  in  such  a  shelter.  There  will  come  a 
time  earlier  or  later  when  the  children  must  go 
out  of  the  sweet,  safe  home  to  face  the  tempta¬ 
tions  and  meet  the  antagonisms  of  the  world.  It 
is  possible,  however,  in  the  days  of  quiet  in  the 
home  so  to  gather  and  garner  spiritual  resources 
that  in  the  conflicts  and  struggles  of  the  after 
days  the  life  shall  be  safe. 

When  men  build  a  great  ship  to  go  upon  the 
sea  they  store  away  in  its  keel  tremendous 
reserves  of  strength  —  stanch  ribs,  massive 
beams  and  stays,  and  heavy  plates  of  steel. 
What  does  it  all  mean  ?  There  is  no  need  for 
such  immense  strength  now.  If  the  ship  were 
to  sail  only  in  some  peaceful  river  or  even  on 


FOR  WINTER 'S  NEED. 


21 


the  ocean  on  its  quiet  days,  it  would  be  a  foolish 
expenditure  at  such  great  cost  to  put  such 
strength  in  her  frame.  But  the  builders  are 
equipping  the  vessel  for  the  wildest  storms  that 
she  may  ever  have  to  face  on  the  sea.  They  are 
building  her,  not  for  ordinary  sailing  in  smooth 
waters,  but  for  the  fury  of  the  most  terrific 
tempest. 

So  human  lives  should  be  built  in  the  home, 
in  the  days  of  happy  youth,  not  merely  for  the 
sweet  experiences  of  the  sheltered  home  itself, 
with  its  love,  gentleness,  and  peace,  but  to  meet 
the  sternest  buffetings  and  the  sorest  testings  that 
any  possible  future  may  bring.  Principles  should 
be  fixed  in  the  heart  so  firmly  that  nothing  can 
ever  swerve  the  life  from  them.  Habits  should 
be  so  wrought  into  the  conduct  that  nothing  can 
ever  change  them.  Conscience  should  be  so 
trained  that  it  shall  do  its  duty  with  inexorable 
fidelity  in  the  sorest  stress  of  temptation. 

Daniel  and  his  young  Hebrew  friends  had 
been  brought  up  in  godly  homes,  where  they 
were  taught  the  word  of  God  with  great  faith¬ 
fulness.  There  they  had  gathered  into  their 


22 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


souls  rich  stores  of  divine  truth  which  had  been 
wrought  into  materials  for  noble  character  — 
reverence,  courage,  strength,  wisdom,  and  all 
needful  moral  qualities.  In  their  early  man¬ 
hood,  when  they  were  scarcely  more  than  boys, 
they  were  carried  away  into  a  strange  land, 
among  heathen  people.  There  they  were  ex¬ 
posed  to  peculiar  trials.  But  they  resisted 
every  temptation  and  stood  the  severest  test.  It 
was  because  away  back  in  the  quiet  days  of 
early  training  and  discipline  they  had  gathered 
reserves  of  moral  strength  and  courage  in  their 
hearts. 

The  same  thing  is  continually  occurring. 
Young  people  go  out  from  their  sweet  homes, 
from  love,  prayer,  and  obedience,  into  a  world  of 
spiritual  enmity  and  antagonism,  where  they  en¬ 
counter  all  forms  of  subtle  temptation.  Yet 
they  pass  unharmed  through  these  insidious 
dangers  because  in  the  summer  days  they  have 
gathered  into  their  life  the  qualities  of  character 
which  make  them  invincible.  The  reason  many 
men  fail  in  the  hard  testings  is  that  they  have 
not  used  their  opportunities  to  make  ready. 


FOR  WINTER'S  NEED. 


23 


They  get  through  the  easy  times  without  seri¬ 
ous  trouble,  but  fail  when  the  hard  days  come. 

“  Common  chances  common  men  can  bear, 

And  when  the  sea  is  calm  all  boats  alike 
Show  mastership  in  floating. 

But  in  the  gale  of  life, 

And  when  the  adverse  winds 
Are  wildly  raging, 

Then  the  staunch  ship  only 
Answers  nobly  to  her  helm,  and  can 
Defy  the  fury  of  the  tempest’s  wrath.” 


We  have  a  suggestion  here  of  the  responsi¬ 
bility  of  parents  and  teachers  and  of  all  who 
have  to  do  with  the  education  and  training  of 
the  young.  Their  sacred  work  must  be  well 
done  if  the  lives  they  send  out  into  the  world 
are  to  be  prepared  not  only  for  the  largest  use¬ 
fulness,  but  for  stanchness,  stability,  and  in¬ 
corruptibleness  of  character.  They  should  teach 
truth  with  conscientious  carefulness.  They 
should  train  mind  and  heart  with  all  wisdom. 
They  should  seek  the  most  perfect  discipline  of 
character  in  those  they  are  training.  They 
know  not  in  what  circumstances  these  lives  shall 


24 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


be  placed  in  after  years,  through  what  experi¬ 
ences  they  shall  pass,  what  serious  and  delicate 
duties  shall  be  put  into  their  hands,  in  what 
positions  of  responsibility  and  trust  they  shall  be 
called  to  stand,  what  vital  interest  may  some¬ 
time  depend  on  their  wisdom,  fidelity,  and 
strength. 

Men  said  the  old  smith  was  foolishly  careful 
as  he  wrought  on  the  chain  he  was  making  in 
his  dingy  shop  in  the  heart  of  the  great  city. 
But  he  heeded  not  their  words,  and  only 
wrought  with  greater  painstaking.  Link  after 
link  he  fashioned,  and  at  last  the  chain  was 
finished  and  carried  away.  In  time  it  lay  coiled 
on  the  deck  of  a  great  ship  which  sped  back  and 
forth  on  the  ocean.  There  seemed  no  use  for 
it,  for  the  great  anchor  was  never  needed,  and 
the  chain  lay  there  uncoiled.  So  years  passed. 
But  one  night  there  was  a  fearful  storm,  and  the 
ship  was  in  sore  peril  of  being  hurled  upon  the 
rocks.  Anchor  after  anchor  was  dropped,  but 
none  of  them  availed ;  the  chains  were  broken 
like  threads.  At  last  the  great  sheet  anchor 
was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  the  old  chain  was 


FOR  WINTER  '  S  NEED. 


25 


quickly  uncoiled  and  run  out  until  it  grew  taut.  . 
All  watched  to  see  if  it  would  bear  the  awful 
strain.  It  sang  in  the  wild  storm  as  the  vessel’s 
weight  surged  upon  it.  It  was  a  moment  of 
intense  anxiety;  the  ship  with  its  cargo  of  a 
thousand  lives  depended  upon  this  one  chain. 
What  now  if  the  old  smith  had  wrought  care¬ 
lessly  even  on  one  link  of  his  chain  !  But  he 
had  put  honesty,  truth,  and  invincible  strength 
into  every  part  of  it,  and  it  stood  the  test,  hold¬ 
ing  the  ship  in  safety  until  the  storm  was  over 
and  the  morning  came. 

Those  who,  in  home  or  school  or  college, 
train  a  young  life,  know  not  for  what  moment¬ 
ous  responsibilities  they  are  fashioning  it,  for 
what  hours  of  testing,  for  what  mighty  issues. 
But  they  should  do  their  work  so  well  that 
never  in  any  circumstances  shall  the  life  fail 
through  ignorance,  through  weakness,  through 
want  of  truth.  It  is  theirs  now,  in  the  life’s 
summer,  to  store  away  in  it  the  reserve  of 
wisdom,  of  strength,  of  faith,  of  love,  of 
endurance,  which  it  may  need.  Should  the  life 
break  or  fail  in  the  testings  of  future  years, 


26 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


because  of  the  inadequacy  of  its  early  furnishing, 
the  mistakes  of  its  training,  or  the  imperfectness 
of  its  discipline,  it  will  be  the  fault  of  those  who, 
as  parents  or  teachers,  were  unfaithful  to  their 
trust. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  this  lesson 
may  be  applied.  One  is  in  preparation  for 
meeting  temptation.  In  one  of  Holman  Hunt’s 
pictures  he  shows  Jesus  in  the  carpenter’s  shop 
at  Nazareth.  It  was  in  his  early  youth.  Along 
the  side  of  the  shop  is  a  little  case  containing  a 
collection  of  ancient  rolls.  The  artist  would 
represent  our  Lord  as  having  his  little  library  of 
sacred  Hebrew  books  in  the  shop  where  he 
worked  at  his  trade,  the  suggestion  being  that 
in  his  resting  moments  he  turned  often  to  them 
to  read  and  ponder  over  their  words.  Thus  he 
stored  the  sacred  truths  in  his  memory.  No 
doubt  this  was  the  custom  of  Jesus.  He  studied 
his  Father’s  words  diligently,  until  his  heart  was 
full  of  them.  Then,  when  he  went  out  from 
his  quiet  home,  and  when  the  tempter  came  to 
him,  he  had  but  to  bring  out  a  divine  promise, 
a  word  of  Scripture,  as  one  would  draw  an 


FOR  WINTER  ’  S  NEED. 


27 


arrow  from  a  quiver,  and  with  it  repel  the 
enemy. 

Young  people  should  take  the  lesson.  Now 
life  is  easy  for  them.  Home’s  shelter  is  over 
them.  Home’s  love  shields  them.  They  have 
opportunity  now  to  read  the  Bible  and  other 
good  books.  By  and  by  they  must  meet  temp¬ 
tation  in  some  of  its  insidious  forms.  In  these 
bright,  sunny  days  they  should  gather  into 
their  life  stores  of  moral  and  spiritual  strength 
from  which  to  draw  when  they  go  forth  to 
encounter  the  world’s  fierce  temptations.  Mem¬ 
ory  should  then  be  filled  with  words  of  God. 
The  essential  principles  of  Christianity  should 
be  so  established  in  their  mind  that  no  assaults 
of  scepticism  can  ever  make  them  doubt.  The 
fundamental  laws  of  morality  should  be  firmly 
fixed  in  their  conscience  as  the  inflexible  rule 
of  conduct,  from  which  nothing  ever  can  cause 
them  to  depart.  Their  habits  of  spiritual  life 
should  be  so  wrought  into  the  very  texture 
of  their  being  that  they  will  carry  their  re¬ 
ligion  with  them,  out  into  the  world,  as  they 
carry  the  features  of  their  face  or  their  throb- 


28 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


bing  heart.  Into  the  ship  of  their  life,  their 
character,  as  they  build  it  in  the  quiet  bay  of 
youth,  they  should  pile  massive  strength  which 
the  wrathful  energy  of  the  stormiest  life  can 
never  possibly  overcome. 

Gathering  thus  in  summer,  they  shall  not  want 
in  winter.  But  if  they  do  not  do  it  now,  they 
never  can  do  it.  The  soldier  cannot  learn  the 
art  of  war  after  the  battle  has  opened.  If  he 
has  not  been  diligent  in  the  days  allotted  him 
for  instruction  and  for  discipline,  he  cannot 
stand  before  his  foes  when  the  conflict  opens. 
Losing  yesterday’s  opportunity  for  training,  we 
cannot  meet  today’s  stern  struggle. 

“  The  key  of  yesterday 
I  threw  away, 

And  now,  too  late, 

Before  to-morrow’s  close-locked  gate 
Helpless  I  stand  —  in  vain  to  pray  ! 

In  vain  to  sorrow  ! 

Only  the  key  of  yesterday 
Unlocks  to-morrow !  ” 


The  same  is  true  of  preparation  for  sorrow. 
Into  every  life,  sooner  or  later,  sorrow  will 


FOR  WINTER’S  NEED. 


29 


come.  In  one  sense,  too,  we  should  not  seek 
to  forecast  it.  We  ought  not  to  look  forward 
to  sorrow  with  fear  and  foreboding.  God  does 
not  want  us  ever  to  do  this.  He  does  not 
promise  us  grace  in  advance ;  we  are  to  live 
by  the  day. 

“  God  broke  our  years  to  hours  and  days, 

That  hour  by  hour, 

And  day  by  day, 

Just  going  on  a  little  way, 

We  might  be  able  all  along 
To  keep  quite  strong.” 


W e  are  not  to  think  of  grief  before  it  comes ; 
it  is  better  that  we  let  God  lead  us  on  step  by 
step,  preparing  us  for  each  event  as  he  brings 
us  to  it.  Yet  we  ought  to  live  so  that  when 
grief  comes  we  shall  not  be  taken  unready, 
without  any  resource  of  comfort  to  which  to 
turn.  The  foolish  virgins  had  only  their  own 
little  lampful  of  oil,  with  no  reserve.  When 
the  midnight  hour  came  and  they  wanted  light, 
their  lamps  were  going  out,  and  they  could  not 
refill  them.  The  wise  virgins,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  not  left  in  darkness  when  their  own 


30 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


lamps  had  burned  out,  for  they  had  a  reserve 
of  oil  in  their  vessels.  If  we  have  a  store  of 
divine  promises  and  consolations  hidden  in  our 
heart,  gathered  and  laid  away  there  during  the 
sunny  days,  we  shall  never  be  left  in  darkness, 
however  suddenly  and  deeply  the  shadow  may 
fall  upon  us. 

Here  we  see  the  value  of  memorizing  Scrip¬ 
ture  in  days  of  childhood  and  youth.  Some¬ 
times  people  ask,  “  What  is  the  use  of  teaching 
children  long  Bible  verses,  the  words  of  which 
they  do  not  understand  ?  ”  The  use  may  not  be 
apparent  at  the  time,  but  later  in  life  it  will 
appear.  The  words  lie  in  the  memory,  and 
seem  to  avail  nothing.  But  they  are  set  in  the 
life,  and  some  day  there  will  be  a  sorrow  or  a 
trouble,  and  it  will  grow  very  dark.  Then, 
through  these  divine  words,  long  waiting  for  a 
time  of  use,  there  will  flash  out  the  pure,  sweet 
light  of  divine  love,  making  them  like  incandes¬ 
cent  lamps  to  pour  the  soft  rays  of  heavenly 
comfort  upon  the  night  of  grief. 

Many  older  Christians  know  this  from  per¬ 
sonal  experience.  Verses  of  God’s  word  mem- 


FOR  WIN  TER  ’  S  NEED. 


31 


orized  in  youth,  which  have  lain  in  their  heart 
for  years,  not  seeming  to  have  any  real  meaning 
for  them,  giving  no  light  of  comfort,  have  sud¬ 
denly  begun  to  flame  out  in  heavenly  brightness, 
yielding  precious  comfort.  Gathered  in  sunny 
hours  and  stored  away  in  the  memory,  they  were 
like  stars  in  the  sky,  invisible  in  the  sunshine, 
but  coming  out  in  calm,  steady  light  when  night 
came  on. 


“When  the  sun  withdraws  his  light 
Lo  !  the  stars  of  God  are  there, 

Present  hosts  unseen  till  night  — 

Matchless,  countless,  silent,  fair.” 

A  touching  story  is  told  of  a  young  man  who 
was  rapidly  losing  his  eyesight.  The  physicians 
told  him  that  he  would  be  able  to  see  but  for 
a  few  months.  At  once,  accompanied  by  a 
sister,  he  set  out  to  travel  over  Europe,  taking 
a  last  look  at  the  beautiful  things  of  this  world, 
before  his  eyes  should  be  closed  forever.  He 
wished  to  have  his  memory  stored  with  lovely 
pictures  of  mountains,  lakes,  and  waterfalls,  of 
noble  buildings  and  works  of  art,  so  that,  when 


32 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


he  should  no  longer  be  able  to  see,  he  might 
have  these  beautiful  visions  in  his  soul  to  lighten 
his  gloom. 

To-day  we  are  in  life’s  rich  sunshine,  with 
beaut}^  all  about  us.  But  darkness  will  come  to 
us  sometime  —  days  when  the  light  will  fade 
away,  the  vision  grow  dim,  and  the  shadows 
thicken.  We  should  prepare  now,  while  we  can 
see,  against  the  coming  of  these  dark  days.  We 
should  walk  in  the  light  while  we  have  the  light. 
We  should  train  ourself  to  see  all  the  beauty 
we  can  find  in  God’s  works  and  words.  There 
really  is  beauty  everywhere  in  the  natural 
world  as  well  as  in  the  spiritual,  and  we  ought 
to  see  as  much  of  it  as  we  can,  to  get  the  pict¬ 
ures  printed  upon  our  soul.  We  should  gather 
while  we  may  into  our  heart  all  the  love,  joy, 
and  gladness  that  we  can  store  there.  Then, 
when  the  night  settles  down  about  us,  we  shall 
have  light  shining  within. 

Some  one  writes  of  sitting  on  a  winter  evening 
by  an  open  wood  fire,  and  listening  to  the  sing¬ 
ing  of  the  green  logs  as  the  fire  flamed  about 
them.  The  writer’s  fancy  is  that,  when  the  tree 


FOE  WIN  TEE'S  NEED. 


33 


stood  in  the  forest  the  birds  came  and  perched 
on  its  boughs,  and  sang  their  songs.  The  wind, 
too,  breathed  through  the  branches,  making  a 
weird,  strange  music.  One  day  a  child  sat  on 
the  moss  by  the  tree’s  root  and  sang  its  happy 
gladness  in  a  snatch  of  sweet  melody.  A  peni¬ 
tent,  wandering  in  sadness  in  the  evening 
shadows,  knelt  there,  and  with  trembling  tones, 
amid  falling  leaves,  spoke  to  God  of  his  sorrow 
for  sin,  and  his  desire  for  forgiveness.  And  all 
these  notes  and  voices  sank  into  the  tree,  and 
hid  away  in  among  its  fibres.  There  they  slept 
until  the  tree  was  cut  down  and  part  of  it  be¬ 
came  a  backlog  in  the  cheerful  evening  fire. 
Then  the  flames  brought  out  the  stored  music. 

This  is  only  a  poet’s  fancy.  But  is  there  not 
in  it  a  little  parable  of  many  a  life  ?  Along  the 
years  a  thousand  influences  play  about  it.  Child¬ 
hood’s  songs  fall  upon  the  ear.  Home’s  sweet 
music  breathes  around  it.  Love  sings  its  gentle 
songs.  Nature’s  voices  cease  not  to  make 
melody  in  the  ear.  Life  has  its  varied  notes 
and  tones,  some  glad,  some  choked  in  tears. 
Books,  companions,  friends,  circumstances,  ex- 


34 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


periences,  emotions,  feelings,  all  manner  of 
scenes  in  their  ceaseless  play  about  the  life, 
drop  their  myriad  notes  of  music,  and  they  all 
steal  down  into  the  heart  and  hide  there.  Years 
pass,  and  the  life  gives  out  no  praise,  sings  no 
song  to  bless  others.  At  length  grief  comes, 
and  in  the  flames  of  trial  the  long-imprisoned 
music  is  set  free,  and  afterwards  sings  itself  out 
in  praise  to  God,  and  in  notes  of  love  to  cheer 
and  bless  the  world.  Gathered  in  life’s  long 
summer  and  stored  away  in  the  heart,  it  is 
brought  out  in  the  hours  of  suffering  and  pain. 
Many  a  rejoicing  Christian  never  learned  to  sing 
till  the  flames  kindled  upon  him. 

In  Rose  Porter's  delightful  little  book,  “Sum¬ 
mer  Driftwood  for  the  Winter  Fire,”  an  old  man 
bids  goodby  to  his  grandchild  as  she  goes  away 
on  her  vacation,  and  says  to  her,  “  Remember, 
little  one,  gather  the  driftwood  that  will  light  the 
winter  fire.”  The  child  laughs  and  says  that  she 
is  going  to  have  a  good  time  while  absent,  that 
she  will  bask  in  the  sunshine  and  gather  flowers 
and  listen  to  the  birds.  “  Ah,  Annie,”  says  the 
old  man,  “  the  flowers  will  fade,  the  sunshine  be 


FOR  WINTER  ’  8  NEED. 


35 


hidden  when  the  winter  storm-clouds  come,  and 
the  song-birds  will  grow  silent.  Find  something 
lasting.  Begin  to  gather  wood  now,  that  will 
warm  your  heart  when  the  winter  of  life  comes, 
child.” 

No  wiser  counsel  could  be  given  to  the 
young.  People  lay  up  firewood  in  the  summer 
when  there  is  no  need  of  fire,  to  burn  in  the 
winter,  when  bitter  winds  blow  and  the  air  is 
keen  and  cold.  So  youth  should  gather  into  its 
heart  the  thoughts,  lessons,  memories,  and  truths, 
which  will  make  both  warmth  and  light  when 
old  age  draws  on.  Let  the  sunshine  into  your 
heart  these  bright  days,  you  who  are  young, — 
God’s  sunshine  of  grace  and  truth.  Read  good, 
cheerful,  helpful  books,  that  will  leave  lofty  and 
inspiring  thoughts  in  your  mind.  Especially 
read  the  Bible  daily,  study  it,  and  hide  its 
divine  words  in  your  heart.  Do  beautiful 
things,  things  of  love,  of  unselfishness,  of  help¬ 
fulness,  things  that  are  true,  honorable,  just, 
pure,  and  lovely.  Nothing  darkens  life’s  winter 
days  as  do  memories  of  sinful  things.  Nothing 
makes  life  so  sweet  in  old  age  as  does  the  mem- 


36 


SUMMER  GATHERING 


or y  of  right,  good,  and  kindly  things  wrought 
along  the  years. 

Gather  about  you,  too,  in  the  sunny  days, 
gentle  and  worthy  friends.  Be  sure  they  are 
worthy,  those  you  take  into  your  heart,  for  un¬ 
worthy  friends  oft-times  make  bitterness  and 
sorrow  for  the  dark  days  of  those  whom  they 
disappoint.  Weigh  well  the  character  of  your 
friends  and  choose  and  take  into  your  life  only 
the  good,  the  pure,  the  noble,  the  honorable. 
Above  all,  gather  into  your  soul  the  sweet 
friendship  of  Jesus  Christ  and  let  his  words 
bless  your  life  and  fill  and  sweeten  your  heart. 

Then  when  the  winter  days  come  the 
memories  of  all  these  precious  things  will  abide 
and  will  shine  like  soft  lamps  in  the  gloom. 
Truly  has  it  been  said,  “  The  memory  of  things 
precious  keepeth  warm  the  heart  that  once  did 
hold  them.”  Such  gathering  in  the  summer 
days  of  life  will  make  the  winter  cheerful  within 
and  bright,  when  the  fire  burns  on  the  hearth, 
let  the  winds  wail  and  the  storms  beat  as  they 
will  outside. 

In  youth,  then,  lay  up  for  manhood  and 


FOR  WINTER'S  NEED. 


37 


womanhood.  In  the  school-days  prepare  for 
meeting  life’s  duties  and  responsibilities.  In 
the  years  of  strength  gather  for  the  times  of 
feebleness  and  old  age.  In  time  of  plenty  store 
up  for  times  of  famine.  In  joy  find  the  divine 
comforts  to  turn  to  in  sorrow.  In  the  bright 
days  prepare  lamps  to  light  at  nightfall.  In 
summer  put  away  wood  for  winter’s  fires.  All 
earthly  life  is  a  time  for  gathering.  Not  a  day 
should  pass  when  we  do  not  lay  up  something 
for  the  future  —  some  new  bit  of  knowledge,  some 
new  lesson  of  experience,  some  new  word  of  God 
to  rest  upon  in  trouble,  some  new  joy  of  pure 
friendship  to  warm  the  heart,  some  new  strength 
received  by  overcoming,  some  new  meaning  of 
love  or  beauty.  That  is  the  way  to  grow  strong 
and  rich  and  good  and  helpful.  Old  age  is  the 
harvest  of  all  the  years  that  have  gone  before. 
A  life  of  summer  gathering  gives  a  beautiful, 
wise,  noble,  happy,  and  useful  old  age. 

Then  this  world  is  a  place  to  gather  in  for 
heaven.  We  shall  be  there  what  we  make  our¬ 
selves  here.  We  shall  find  there  the  treasures 
we  have  gathered  here.  We  shall  gather 


38 


SUMMER  GATHERING. 


there  the  harvest  from  earth’s  sowing.  Our 
crown  there  will  be  woven  of  the  blessedness  of 
faithful  obedience  to  God  and  service  of  love  for 
our  fellow  men. 

Says  Ruskin :  “  What  fairy  palaces  we  may 
build  of  beautiful  thoughts,  proof  against  all 
adversity,  —  bright  fancies,  satisfied  memories, 
noble  histories,  faithful  sayings  ;  treasure-houses 
of  precious  and  restful  thoughts,  which  care 
cannot  disturb,  nor  pain  make  gloomy,  nor 
poverty  take  away  from  us  —  houses,  built  with¬ 
out  hands,  for  our  souls  to  live  in  !  ” 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


012  01004  7324 


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